Contents

Our history starts nearly 1400 years ago when
Cedd arrived in what we now
call Essex.

Key Events and Dates

653
AD

The
arrival of St Cedd.

654

Cedd
founded a Celtic style
community at Othona, built his Cathedral of St Peters on the
foundations of the
Roman fort and was consecrated Bishop of Essex. In fact Cedd's
Cathedral was
built where the gatehouse of the fort had been - so it was built on the
wall of
the fort - hence the name - Saint Peter-on-the-Wall.

664

Cedd
died of the plague at
Lastingham in October. Soon after the death of Cedd, Essex was taken
into the
Diocese of London and St Peter's became a minster for the surrounding
country.

1068

The
Chapel became the property of
the Benedictine monastery of St Valery on the Somme.

1391

The
Chapel was sold to William of
Wykeham.

1750

For
many years it was used as a
barn for the storage of grain and shelter of cattle.

1920

Restored
for use as a
Chapel.

The Early History

1300 years ago there were people working in Ireland and
Scotland to spread
the Christian faith. In Ireland, Patrick had
established many
monasteries and from there Columba had come to
Iona, a tiny island off
the west coast of Scotland, to establish a monastery and many other
Christian
centres.

From Columba's monastery, a man called Aidan
was sent from Iona at
the invitation of King Oswald of Northumbria to set up a monastery at
Lindisfarne on the north-east coast. It was also to be a school where
Anglo-Saxon boys could be trained to become priests and missionaries.
It was in
this school that Cedd and his brothers Caelin,
Cynebil and Chad learnt
to read and write in Latin, and learnt to teach the Christian faith.

The four brothers were all ordained as priests and two of them, Cedd
and Chad,
later became bishops. Cedd's first mission was to go to the midlands,
then
called Mercia, at the request of its ruler, King Paeda, who wanted his
people
to become Christians. Cedd was so successful that when King
Sigbert of
the East Saxons (Essex) asked for a similar mission, it was Cedd who
was sent.

So in 653 Cedd sailed down the east coast of England from Lindisfarne
and
landed at Bradwell. Here he found the ruins of an old deserted Roman
fort. He
probably first built a small wooden church but as there was so much
stone from
the fort he soon realised that would provide a much more permanent
building, so
he replaced it the next year with the chapel we see today! Cedd
modelled his
church on the style of churches in Egypt and Syria. The Celtic
Christians were
greatly influenced by the churches in that part of the world and we
know that
St Antony of Egypt had built his church from the ruins of a fort on the
banks
of a river, just as Cedd did on the banks of the River Blackwater in
Essex
(then known as the River Pant).

Cedd's mission to the East Saxons was so successful that the same year
he was
recalled to Lindisfarne and made Bishop of the East Saxons. His simple
monastery at Bradwell would, like those at Iona and Lindisfarne, have
been at
the same time a church, a community of both men and women, a hospital,
a
library, a school, an arts centre, a farm, a guest house and a mission
base.
From there he established other Christian centres at Mersea, Tilbury,
Prittlewell and Upminster.

Cedd often visited his northern childhood home and in 659 was
introduced to
King Ethelwald who asked him to establish a monastery in Northumbria.
Cedd
chose a site at Lastingham as it was wild and seemed fit only for wild
beast,
robbers and demons. Again this was exactly how St Antony of Egypt chose
his
sites. In 664, while at his monastery in Lastingham, Cedd caught the
plague. As
he lay dying 30 of his monks from Bradwell came to be with him. They
too caught
it and one young boy survived and returned to Bradwell.

A Modern
History (the Chapel 2007 report)

The world it seems, never ceases to beat a path to the
ever-open door of
the Chapel. 'Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest', as Thomas
Chilsholm's hymn has it, the Pilgrims come. Each with their own story,
each
with their own gift of thankfulness to bring on their pilgrimage or
with their
burden of care to lay down here in this Holy Place. Some of them we
meet by
design - more and more groups want a 'guided' tour with a brief talk
about the
history and significance of this place. Others we meet by accident -
wandering
in when we are at the Chapel or encountering them somewhere on the
road.

We keep a book at the chapel in which we invite visitors
and pilgrims to
record their names, when they came, where they came from and a brief
comment.
On one sample page of thirty-six entries are listed a diversity of
places as
far apart as Southend, Basildon, Perth West Australia, Danbury, Italy,
Pitsea,
Middelburg North Carolina, Dorking, Newport Pagnall, Apla Samoa, Cyprus
and
Venezuela. Their comments range across 'Peaceful', 'Beautiful',
'Wonderful',
'Amazing!', 'Impressive', 'Moving', 'Very Quaint', 'Beautifully
Scerene', 'An
Oasis of peace and more in a frantic world', 'Exudes the centuries of
worship
and peace', 'Never fails to amaze', 'What a surprise', 'Big!'
'Impresionante!'
'Holy', 'A proper place to worship.' and 'Yummy!' Few fail to be moved
in some
way by their visit here.

The Chapel year is underpinned by the Eucharist celebrated
there at 08.00 on
Wednesday mornings followed most weeks by breakfast at the Othona
Community.
This regular underpinning sustains many and varied activities: School
visits,
parish pilgrimages and confirmation groups, students of Architecture
and
Anglo-Saxon history. Chelmsford Cathedral Choir and the Cathedral
'walkers'
make their annual visit to the chapel as do the Pleshey 'walkers' and
the Choir
from St Mark with St Margaret Plumstead Common.

The year unfolds with our Good Friday Walk of Witness
following the Pilgrim
Route from St Thomas Bradwell-on-Sea to St Peter's Chapel, walking the
Stations
of the Cross down the Chapel Track and finishing with a service in the
Chapel.
We gathered in the thickest mist we had seen all year at 05.30 on
Easter Day to
kindle the Paschal Fire and to celebrate that 'Christ was Risen Indeed!
Alleluia!

The Chapel was the backdrop for the Annual Bradwell
Pilgrimage on 7th July
2007 when Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor encouraged us all with his
thoughts
about Spiritual Ecumenism. Pilgrims were invited to leave behind a
prayer card
with their details and prayer concerns. Some 700 responded, some cards
contain
one name, some as many as 35! and all these people, places and concerns
have
been remembered throughout the year at our regular Wednesday service.

A wide and exciting variety of Summer Evening Services
followed in July and
August. The Chapel resounded to many voices of prayer and worship from
the
stately measured tones of formal Choral Evensong to Christian new wave.
A film
crew were present at the last Summer Evening Service, gathering
material for a
forthcoming magazine programme about contemporary life in the British
countryside.

Innovations this year included the Parish Animal Service
which was attended
by 40 people, 10 dogs, 2 horses and a gerbil! The Chapel was the focus
for a
Deanery Mother's Union Quiet Day in September and continues to be the
local
Spiritual Home of the Othona Community with whom we work closely.

The 'season' ends with a Eucharist for St Cedd on the
evening of the last
Sunday in October. The Chapel is flooded with light and expectation at
the
Parish carol service on the evening of the Sunday before Christmas with
once
again more than 200 of us braving the elements to join our voices with
those of
the Angels and hear the Christmas story unfold.

We are all too aware of the depth of need and distress of
an increasing
number of people who arrive at the Chapel looking for answers to life's
problems. Given the limited resources available to us, we are
considering what
further things might be done to provide information or support for
these
people.

As ever, tribute must be paid and thanks given to the band
of local
volunteers from Bradwell Parish and the Othona community for their hard
and
unsung work of cleaning, grass cutting, flower arranging, ensuring
supply of
books and publications, preparing for services, welcoming groups and
individuals, providing refreshments, answering queries, tracking down
lost
property - and lost visitors! Thanks also to the Chapel Committee which
cares
for the fabric and finances of the Chapel.